The friends told Shasta County Sheriff's deputies waded into the water near Fire Island. They saw him swimming and then he went underwater, deputies said.

Rescue crews were called to the Bridge Bay Resort area around 5:30 p.m. after the drowning was reported, but Dickson's companions apparently were confused about where they were and initially reported they thought they were near the McCloud or the Pit arms of the lake.

However, they flagged down other boaters and learned they were on Fire Island, on the other side of the lake.

Deputies arrived at around 6:03 p.m. They found Dickson had been brought out of the water and his friends were trying to save his life.

Deputies took the man and met up with two firefighters, who continued to perform life saving efforts until they arrived at Bridge Bay.

Dickson was put into an ambulance, but was pronounced dead at 6:20 p.m. An autopsy Friday confirmed he had drowned, the coroner's office reported.

Authorities said Dickson was under water for around three to five minutes before his friends recovered him. They said they didn't know if alcohol was involved.